The football jerseys worn by New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady during Super Bowl 49 and Super Bowl 51 were returned to the New England Patriots and National Football League by the FBI Thursday.

The agency's Boston office shared a photo of the returned jerseys alongside Patriots owner Robert Kraft and the team's five Super Bowl trophies.

"We want to thank the FBI, the Mexican authorities and the many different local agencies that were involved in the investigation and ultimate recovery of Tom Brady's Super Bowl LI jersey," Kraft said in a statement.

"I don’t know that any agency could have accomplished this independently, but collectively multiple agencies - both in the U.S. and in Mexico - worked together to achieve the goal of retrieving the stolen property," Kraft added. "It is another example of the importance of teamwork and what can be accomplished when everyone works together."

A Mexican federal government official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case, said the attorney general's office participated in the investigation and obtained a search warrant. The jersey and other objects were found March 12, the official said.

The newspaper's owner, Organizacion Editorial Mexicana, issued a statement saying the director resigned two days later for "personal reasons."

The paper said that if the accusations are true, it "strongly condemns" that the employee used his position "to obtain a media accreditation to be able to access the field of play, news conferences and probably other areas of NRG Stadium." The paper said it had not been contacted by investigators.

A company official who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity that the former director was not part of the media outlet's Super Bowl coverage.

"He got accredited on behalf of La Prensa, but he took vacations. ... He was not sent by us," the person said. "They were not even aware that (he) had gone to the Super Bowl."

The former director handed over his company phone when he resigned last Tuesday, the person said.